Once upon a time in America, we were all immigrants. Yet today, it’s no longer the tired, poor and huddled masses making their way into the land of milk and honey. Those with enough money are welcomed, while those most like our ancestors are derided as scofflaws and left to fend for themselves.
On June 15, President Barack Obama awoke from his two-year-long domestic policy hibernation and declared approximately 800,000 children of illegal immigrants would not face the risk of deportation — as long as certain criteria was met. Unsurprisingly, his not-quite-amnesty policy elicited a chorus of “you’re putting Americans at risk” howls from conservatives.
Unfortunately, those who yell the loudest often frame the argument, and the right wing has an abundance of screamers in its corner. A quick Google search for “illegal immigration crime” yields an astounding cesspool of misinformation emanating from those lined up on the conservative side of the political ledger.
The truth is immigrants, including illegal immigrants, are far less likely to commit crimes than American citizens. “Immigrants in California are, in fact, far less likely than U.S.-born Californians are to commit crime,” according to a 2008 article from Time Magazine. In addition, a study by the Public Policy Institute of California revealed immigrants comprised only 17 percent of California’s prison population, even though they accounted for 35 percent of state’s total adult population.
The reason should be obvious: Anyone risking his or her life to make the arduous, resource-draining transit toAmerica is far less likely to throw it all away committing a crime. What then can be said about the boisterous cry that illegal immigrants receive public aid without paying into the system from which they benefit?
Escaping from the minds of the skeptics is the fact that even illegal immigrants pay sales tax. We can confidently assume undocumented workers earn pitifully low wages performing the menial labor many Americans wouldn’t do. Taking this into consideration, it’s doubtful they would pay much, if anything at all, in federal and state income tax. Had they been naturalized citizens, they’d likely be eligible for the aid they would currently be receiving. If they were paying into social security, the businesses employing them would have to increase their wages.
Knowing how businesses operate, they would directly pass these increased expenses to us, the consumers. Americans reap tremendous savings in the cost of produce as a result of ill-gotten labor. However, the ones profiting the most from undocumented workers are the businesses employing them. They disregard established labor laws during the hiring process and offer low wages. Hiding employees on the payrolls also spares the employer from having to pay medical and retirement benefit programs.
Still, anti-immigration detractors claim we cannot afford to provide previously denied secondary education loans and grants to the children of illegal immigrants. But California’s Dream Act is only estimated to cost taxpayers $65 million annually. Even so, Beacon Economics, an independent economic research firm, predicts California’s economy would continue its emergence from the depths of recession.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney belatedly read the writing on the wall and announced his own plan for immigration reform. Pandering to his base, Romney excludes the education option. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn three of four provisions in Arizona’s fledgling immigration law is another sign illegal immigrants are here to stay, as long as they don’t commit any crimes.
It’s important to keep in mind Obama’s revised Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, “DREAM-light,” expressly excludes convicted criminals from the deportation respite. The Pew Hispanic Center has reported that the rate of deportation has doubled throughout the past decade and Obama’s decree is unlikely to reverse the trend. Instead, it will merely separate the wheat from the chaff.
The children in question are the wheat. They beat the odds, earning their high school diplomas despite coming from the demographic with the highest dropout rate. Tenacity will serve them well in the pursuit of lofty academic goals. Hopefully they will help reverse the achievement gap in math and science between America and other developed nations, a gap Americans have shown little interest in closing.
Illegal immigrants are not threats to society and have paid for their right to be within our borders. Allowing their children the freedom to remain in America is a continuation of the American Dream our ancestors strove for once upon a time.
– Mike Heral, contributor, is a journalism junior
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Immigration is an intensely painful topic for a liberal like myself, because it places basic principles in conflict. Should migration from Mexico to the United States be celebrated, because it helps very poor people find a better life? Or should it be condemned, because it drives down the wages of working Americans and threatens to undermine the welfare state?
However, we have to look at this issue honestly, and I believe you are incorrect on at least a few points:
From the liberal NYT’s economist Paul Krugman:
“Immigration reduces the wages of domestic workers who compete with immigrants. That’s just supply and demand: we’re talking about large increases in the number of low-skill workers relative to other inputs into production, so it’s inevitable that this means a fall in wages. The general point seems impossible to deny.
Finally, the fiscal burden of low-wage immigrants is also pretty clear. Mr. Hanson uses some estimates from the National Research Council to get a specific number, around 0.25 percent of G.D.P. Again, I think that you’d be hard pressed to find any set of assumptions under which Mexican immigrants are a net fiscal plus…”
Ridiculous. IOW, hogwash. The chief dreamer isn’t dreaming. Quite simply, he’s the commie in chief. I’ve known a hundred kids who were directly harmed by this obvious grab for democrat votes. Here’s another idea. Limit the 800,000 to just those under 21 and for every illegal alien kid allowed to attend school, at the price my daughters paid, deport both the parents. Then after five years, if they have not been graduated from an accredited school, return them to their parents. And if they have not achieved citizenship or served a hitch in the military within two years after graduation, return them to their parents. Make it a one-time offer that expires FOREVER after six months. I’d opine that huge number soon would be about 50. I’m OK with that.
It’s important to understand that our voting system is in serious trouble, because of the trust we once had is rapidity diminishing? Elections are now under attack by the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, guided by the Socialist-Marxist regime of President Obama’ Czars whose intention is to maintain the election laws as instituted in 1964. We really cannot speculate how long the greatest numbers of non-citizens have been voting, when our strict Constitutional laws were introduced for citizens only. Non-citizens and others ineligible to vote, have and will again either use absentee ballots or arrive at the voting station with hardly any oversight—other than their word to vote. This could be catastrophic in close races, as Democrats led by the hand of Liberals has compromised the whole system. Using the disingenuous ‘politically correctness’ an absurd enigma of the zealot progressives. The new in-word ‘Voter Suppression’ is being used to challenge the fact that unknown numbers of foreign nationals are voting in contradiction to the law. Voter Suppression has been added to the Marxist Lexicon as the race card, skin color and other different labels, which obnoxiously have the mechanism to turn our politicians into spineless cowards.
Eric Holder still emanating the stench of corruption from deep in the ‘Fast and Furious’ origination, is now pushing an agenda of disqualifying any laws that requests the use of official picture ID. Right now anybody can vote, if they have a mind to, which includes felons, deceased people, none citizens and especially illegal aliens or even the household pet. The ‘Motor Voter’ Act of 1993, can be obtained from any post offices, with hardly any emphasis that is a penal violation to vote if not a citizen?
1. When people register by mail they are NOT REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ANY FORM OF IDENTIFICATION.
2. When people register in person at a Department of Motor Vehicles or a Social Services agency, the government workers who handle their cases are not permitted to challenge their applications. In other words there are no safeguards in the voting process and the Democrats prefer it this way. So the election cycle is literary open to fraud.
In June 2011, a Rasmussen Report in a national phone survey likely U.S. voters said that voters should be required to show photo identification before being allowed to cast their ballots. This included 85% of Republicans, 77% of voters not affiliated with either major party, or 63% of Democrats. Support for such a law was high across virtually all demographic groups. Just 18% of respondents opposed the requirement.
You only have to read about the highly controversial scenario in Florida. Of course as with the Sanctuary State of California, Nevada the Justice Department is trying to control Texas on this matter. Millions of illegal aliens have defied the law and settled illegally in every American state and I can guarantee to the gullible public, that they are cheating the welfare system and other public services. This is evident when they smuggle their children through borders or knowingly enter America by international flights, fully aware that the U.S. taxpayer will cover the costs of the baby delivery and its uncompensated care from cradle to grave. Prospective President Mitt Romney had best be aware, to be guided by the growing millions of CONSTITUTIONAL TEA PARTY politicians that foreigners will be slowly but surely be repatriated.
Americans are frustrated and sick with the usual ‘Status Que’ of entrenched incumbents, who don’t play by the rules that supposedly govern us. A great example is the border fence that separates us from the drug Cartels and a whole litany of criminals. In many locations the fence doesn’t exist as its just open range, except for a few strands of eroded barbed wire? Go and check out the reputable surveys by light plane, across the stretches of Arizona at the AMERICAN PATROL site. Both political parties have lied to us, when they have been running the country, specifically the population figures of illegal migrants and immigrants already here. Must admit Obama started off well by huge numbers of illegal aliens deported, but it’s slowed to a crawl. I don’t trust neither party anymore and as an Independent, will vote for a true lawmaker who is a verified member of the TEA PARTY?
Bear in mind the TEA PARTY is the only knight in shining armor that will halt illegal immigration for good. We must replace every politician, Governor, Police Chief or other elected official who supports the illegal alien invasion, whether they are a Democrat, Liberal or even a Republican with a TEA PARTY leader. Join your local Constitutional Tea Party and remove Obama and endeavor to demand that Mitt Romney people enact mandatory E-Verify ‘The Legal Workforce Act’ (H.R. 2885) to reject unauthorized workers, with citizens and lawful non-citizens and then additionally an amendment the Birthright Citizenship law (H.R.140) Which will recognize for citizenship, only the babies of parents where at least one being a citizen.
When we cannot even care for our own citizens and legal residents properly, why is the government giving public benefits to criminals? Why for instance is the now aptly named ‘Sanctuary State’ of California hemorrhaging billions of dollars to pay for the health care, education of everybody who squats there? Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Andronovich, who denies nothing of the billions of dollars, spent every year; an incredulous taxpayer burden placed upon the populace of the state. Of course there is no need to persuade prudent Americans, well aware that the Liberals intoxicated with power are firmly established in Sacramento have caused this financial wreck. They passed an anti-Arizona law and by doing so have committed an even worse monetary demise. Without any fear of contradiction hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens will swarm California, because they believe they will be safe there from policing enforcement. That goes for any state that remains unconcerned about the impact of impoverished people stealing in from not only Arizona, but Alabama, Georgia, Utah, South Carolina and whoever else passes tough state policing enforcement laws.
Not that any other state that have poorly enforced immigration laws, will remain untouched?
The only way to change the direction of this country is by voting into Congress as many TEA PARTY legislators as is possible. Both parties have been given every chance in the world and have failed miserably. The more TEA PARTY politicians that can unseat Democrats and Republicans, the more influence we have to change Washington. Look to your own representatives in Congress and see if they are being dictated to by the ‘K” Street special interests, the unions, churches of a whole conglomeration of radical organizations. Is your local political personage against or for, illegal immigration? Did you Congressman vote an ordinance for a Sanctuary City or for Comprehensive Immigration Amnesty? Are you aware that a recent study projects a wide ranging Amnesty would cost all taxpayers $2.6 Trillion dollars, when we already owe the foreign investors $16 Trillion dollars. Learn more details at NumbersUSA . Citizen voters should phone Congress at the central Washington, D.C., Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and review there standing on issues as illegal immigration, ObamaCare, drilling for oil, gas and coal and halting the relentless pressure of rules and regulations that is stifling job expectations.